The caustically epigrammatic script, the cast's suavely controlled gestures of love and menace, and Rossen's thrillingly restrained and stylishly assertive images... make this pugnacious yet intricate spectacle a hidden classic of the genre.

Although the plot follows a familiar pattern, the characterizations are fresh and the performances good enough to overbalance.

Despite good performances and fine camerawork from Burnett Guffey, Rossen's first film as director is a disappointingly flat thriller.

...a head-scratching misfire.